Lord Mayor of Brisbane | 2004-2011

While running my own consulting business, I heard that the Liberal Party were looking for a candidate to contest the Lord Mayoral elections. Despite those elections being two years away, in March 2002 I put my hand up and embarked on a long journey to City Hall. My reason for standing was simple, I felt strongly that the then ALP administration was not delivering the road and public transport infrastructure that Brisbane needed for the future.

After two years on the campaign trail I won the popular vote for the Lord Mayoralty but the ALP won the majority of seats in the Council Chamber. My Deputy Mayor was the ALP’s David Hinchliffe and for the next 4 years we had to work together in a pressure cooker atmosphere of hard ball politics. It wasn’t fun but we got some important things done.

In March 2008 after a highly effective campaign conceived and led by Ben Myers we achieved a landslide victory, with me achieving a primary vote of 60.1% and the Liberal Party taking 16 wards out of 26 across the City.

I served as Lord Mayor until my resignation in April 2011 and entry to State politics.